Remember
by MysticFantasy
Summary: Jack survives being shot. While he's healing the Mercer family quickly find out that Jack has other troubles. AU. Evelyn alive.
1. Chapter 1

**Remember**

**By: MysticMoonlight**

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(Disclaimer: _I own no part of this movie or the characters. If I did I would keep Jack all to myself!_ )

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Chapter 1

The family watched in horror as Jack's legs were shot and he fell straight into the snow with cries of pain.

"Jack!" Evelyn cried with tears watching as Jack crawled onto a mound of snow where he collapsed, not able to move because of his wounds. She tried to run over to him but was held back by Angel.

The Marine then got his mother out of the way as a rain of bullets was directed right to them. Angel got Evelyn into the dining room where she found cover behind the wall with Jerry next to her.

"Bobby!" Jack shouted from outside.

"Jack!" Bobby yelled.

"Bobby!" Jack shouted again in pain.

"Jack!" Evelyn cried. She had never felt so scared and helpless before. She heard Bobby yell in frustration and more gunfire was heard.

But what she heard most was Jack's cries of pain and fear. She could barely make out the sound of the guns and things breaking around her because his cries were the only thing she could hear.

"Sofi! Give me the guns!" Angel shouted.

Evelyn watched as Sofi grabbed two hand guns and slid them over to Angel who started to fire them as soon as he got them.

Quickly, Evelyn realized that she needed to get to a phone. Jack was shot and would need help right away. He couldn't afford to wait.

"Sofi. I need your phone!" she exclaimed.

The young woman reached into her pocket's and grabbed her phone. She slid it over to Evelyn who quickly called 911.

She was still on the line when Jerry suddenly got up and rushed to the back door where she watched him take out one of the gunmen with a large kitchen knife and then rush out the door.

Suddenly everything was silent.

Evelyn couldn't hear any guns, nothing breaking, but mostly she couldn't hear Jack.

She looked up just in time to see Bobby jump through the front door as he threw a piece of brick into the face of one of the remaining shooters who fell and Bobby started to punch him in the face and head with another brick in hand. She carefully inched forward and saw that another shooter was starting to raise his gun toward Bobby who was unaware of what was going on.

She was about to shout to her son when she saw Angel jump from the roof, run over and kick the gun from the shooter.

"Bobby!" Angel shouted running to his brother and tackled him out of the way and into the snow just as Jerry's car slammed into a van that nearly hit the oldest Mercer.

Right then, Evelyn stood and ran out the front door at the same time Bobby and Angel hurried off of the snow and toward the spot where Jack was lying.

"Jack!" Bobby cried reaching Jack's bloody body. "Jack, look at me. Jack? You're gonna be alright. Hold on man."

Evelyn rushed over and dropped to her knees next to Bobby. "Jackie!"

Jack looked up at his mother before blood poured from his mouth as he gasped in pain.

"Jackie." Evelyn pleaded holding onto Jack's head to both comfort him and keep him still. "Stay with me baby. Please Jackie. You have to stay with me. I can't lose you."

Jack looked up at his mother with sad and painfilled eyes. He reached up a shaky hand to her and she right away held it in hers, ignoring the blood that smeared onto her.

She saw the look in his eyes. Those blue orbs were practically telling her that he knew he wasn't going to make it. That his life would end right here in the snow covered in his blood.

The sirens were so close now but it still felt like they were so far away. Jack couldn't hold on much longer.

His eyes lids were getting heavier by the second and all he wanted to do was sleep. But they all knew that if he closed his eyes he wouldn't wake up.

"They're almost here Jack. You gotta hold on." Bobby pleaded taking hold of his brother's head while Angel applied pressure to the gun wound. "Please Jack. Come on man. Come on Jack you gotta breath! Don't you die on me you little fairy. Come on Jack. Please. You gotta f***ing breath."

Jack weakly smiled at his brother.

It tore their hearts to see him smile. He was trying to be brave for them. Here he was seriously wounded and he was trying to make them feel better when it should be the other way around.

Evelyn's tear filled eyes could see that Jack's eyes were starting to close and his breathing was getting slower.

"Jackie, please. Hold on just a little longer. Please." she begged.

Her response was Jack coughing and more blood making it past his lips.

"Hang on Jack. You're gonna be alright." Angel declared.

Jack seemed to gasp deseraptly for air and his eyes started to slowly close.

"Jack. Come on man. You gotta keep your eyes open. Please Jack. Don't close your eyes." Jerry pleaded desperatly.

A small choking sound emitted from Jack before his eyes fluttered shut and his body went limp.

"Jack. Jack." Evelyn cried when Jack's hand went limp in hers.

"Jack. Come on, Jack. Come on, please." Bobby sobbed. "Please."

Evelyn lowered her head so that her forehead was touching Jack's and her tears fell onto his face.

"Please heavenly father. Please don't take my baby from me." she whispered through tears.

She heard Bobby's breathing become heavy with anger and he suddenly got to his feet.

"Bobby!" She called watching him walk over to a fallen pistol that was in the middle of the street. The oldest Mercer brother picked up the pistol, clicked it and vanished on the other side of the van.

Evelyn turned her attention back to Jack, afraid of what Bobby was going to do.

"Who sent you? Victor Sweet?" she heard Bobby ask.

"Yeah, yeah it was Sweet." a muffled voice answered. "Thank God."

"Thank God?" Bobby repeated. "He tried to kill my mother and now he killed my little brother you mother f***er. Thank Victor Sweet."

_BANG_

Evelyn held back a gasp when she heard the gunfire. Not sure if she could believe what just happened. Then she heard painful cries and saw Bobby walk back over to them.

"I didn't kill him." he muttered when he was close. "Just made sure he ain't going anywhere."

The ambulance and police cars suddenly arrived out of nowhere. The ambulance pulled up next to them and paramedics flew out of the vechile and went straight to Jack.

Having been pulled to the side, Evelyn couldn't help but feel like they had gotten there too late.

Jack was gone.

"We got a pulse!"

The Mercer's snapped their heads up when they heard those words.

Almost in a flash, they saw the paramedics place Jack's limp form onto a gurney while one of them held a hand pump air mask to provide Jack with oxygen.

"Jack!" Evelyn sobbed watching the paramedics rush Jack into the ambulance.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**By: MysticFantasy**

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Evelyn held the rosary in her hands as she silently prayed.

Even though she had washed her hands and the rosary, Bobby believed that he could still see the red stains of Jack's blood on his mother's hands and his brother's rosary.

He shifted his eyes to look at the floor. The surgery felt like it was taking hours and he wasn't sure how much longer he could wait to hear how Jack was doing.

The whole scene of how this all came to be kept replaying in his mind. Seeing Jack on his knees in the middle of the street with blood pouring from his wound and then seeing him shot in the legs to immobilize him. His screams of pain and fear continued to ring in his ears.

_How could I have let this happen?_ Bobby asked himself.I'm _the one who wanted the find the guys who tried to kill mom. Now Jack's the one who's been shot and fighting to stay alive. _I'm_ the one who should be in there under the knife. Not him. Not Jackie._

He came out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his. He held the hand back knowing very well that it was his mother who was able to see what he was feeling. A gift she's had since before she took Bobby in as her son.

Another painfully slow hour went by.

Bobby had slowly paced the room for nearly twenty minutes of that time, Angel had drank three cups of coffee, Jerry had shared in his two brother's activities and Evelyn had never stopped praying.

_I can't stand the thought of being the youngest again._ Angel thought sitting back in the uncomfortable chair looking blankly at the floor with his fourth empty coffee cup in his hands. _Jack's the baby of the us. It's always been that way and it needs to stay that way. If he dies I'm going to make sure that Sweet dies a slow death by my own two hands._

_Jackie,_ Jerry thought taking a seat next to Angel. _I know that you're stronger than any of us realize. Show us how strong you are little brother. Show us that you have the strength to come out of this. Show us that we're not going to lose you._

Bobby lightly sighed as he sat next to his mother.

_Jack, baby brother, you have to pull through._ Bobby pleaded. _I know that it's my fault for letting this happen to you but I promise that I'm going to make it up to you. I've treated you pretty hard over the years in the name of tough love but I'm going to change all of that. I won't call you gay, a fairy or anything anymore. I'll treat you right Jackie. Just please don't leave us._

"Mercer?"

The four quickly stood when they saw a tired looking surgeon standing in the open doorway. He slowly removed his surgical cap and mask as he walked over to them.

Bobby noticed his nametag that read Dr. Kevin Thomps. He guessed the nametag was placed after the surgery since it was clean but placed over a small spot of blood.

They right away noticed the look on his face. It didn't look good.

"You're the family of Jackson Mercer?" he asked softly.

"Yes. Is he alright?" Evelyn asked.

The surgeon sighed heavily.

"We almost lost him during the surgery." he stated. "I know this isn't what you're going to want to hear but for two minutes we did lose him. We had to shock him a few times but we got him back and we've managed to get him stabilized. But he's not out of the woods. We're placing him in ICU where he's going to need around the clock attention. He will need to have a few support machines that are going to monitor him due to how serious his injuries were. We have him on oxygen support until he's strong enough to breath on his own again. The damage to his legs were very serious. His right knee was shattered and a bullet had to be removed from his left leg. He's going to need weeks of physical therapy since it seems the damage done to his legs will force him to learn to walk all over again. As for his shoulder, nothing too serious was damaged. There were a few torn muscles but they were fixed up and he'll need to get strength back but he should recover fairly well. If you'll follow me I'll take you to see him."

The four Mercer's were in utter shock when they heard Jack's condition. They knew he was seriously wounded but it somehow didn't seem like so much damage had been done.

And for two legal minutes they had lost him.

They walked into a hallway and stopped when they noticed orderlies and nurses walking by while wheeling someone on a bed.

It wasn't until they were in front of them that they saw it was Jack.

Bobby had never felt such guilt and sorrow in his entire life until now. His heart was breaking inside of him as he watched his youngest brother being wheeled by with machines connected to him that were held by the orderlies and nurses.

The doctor motioned for them to follow. They didn't have to walk far and were soon in a private hospital room in the ICU where the machines attached to Jack were set on stands and double checked before the extra help left.

"We're going to have him on around the clock care." Dr. Thomps said. "It's going to be these next forty eight hours that are going to be the most critical. I have to warn you now, not most people survive wounds like this but he does have a chance. We'll keep you informed on any changes."

The doctor left and the family moved to the bedside.

Jack looked so weak and vulnerable. Like the slightest touch would shatter him into millions of pieces. He had always looked like that but that appearance seemed to have magnified over the past few hours.

There was a tube in his mouth, an IV in his left arm, obvious signs of casts on his legs under the blanket, bandages sticking out from under the hospital gown and other machines that were monitoring this and that.

"Jackie." Evelyn whispered gently reaching out and smoothing his untamable hair to one side.

"This is all my fault." Jerry declared facing the wall.

"Jerry, don't." Angel said turning to his brother.

"Angel, you know that this _is_ all my fault." Jerry stated turning back to face his family. "If I hadn't turned down Sweet then mom wouldn't have filed that report, they wouldn't have tried to kill her and they wouldn't have tried to kill all of us. Jack is like this because of me."

"Jeremiah." Evelyn lightly snapped walking to her second son. "You did the right thing turning down a crook like him."

"But look at the mess we're in now Ma." Jerry replied. "It's because I did the right thing. If I had just accepted then none of this would have happened. No one would have tried to kill you and Jack wouldn't be here fighting for his life."

"And do you think we would have liked to hear that our brother went back to his old ways?" Angel suddenly asked.

"We wouldn't Jerry." Bobby stated. "You were just trying to better yourself and everyone and everything around you. But we're gonna set Sweet straight. If he thinks he's walking away from this he's wrong. We'll show him that he can't mess with the Mercer's and get away with it."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**By: MysticFantasy**

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Evelyn stood and looked at her sons.

She knew what they were going to do today. She didn't approve of it but she had no power to stop it from happening. Jerry, Angel and especially Bobby wanted justice done and they wanted it now.

She also secretly hoped that justice would be done as well.

First there had been the attempt at her life and then her youngest nearly died right in front of her. Jack nearly dying was what angered and upset her most. He had nothing to do with what happened and how he's fighting to stay alive.

"Mom," Bobby spoke softly.

"Boys, just promise me that you'll come back to me." she said with sad and pleading eyes. "I already nearly lost one of my sons. I don't want to lose the rest."

"Don't worry mom. We'll come back. All of us. You're not gonna lose anyone. I'll make sure of it." Bobby vowed hugging his mother.

"Ready?" Jerry asked holding a mysterious duffle bag.

Bobby and Angel nodded before they all turned to Jack who lay still and unconscious in the hospital bed.

Bobby went over and leaned down close to Jack and brushed his hand over the mess of brownish gold locks.

"Jack, we're going to leave for a while. We're going to take care of some business but we'll be right back. All of us will and then we'll stay here with you until you open your eyes. Keep fighting ya little fairy. I love you baby brother."

Bobby leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Jack's forehead.

"Stay with us Cracker Jack. You know we can't lose you. You're our baby brother and we want it to stay that way. You know my girls need to learn to play guitar from someone who does have talent. Love you Jackie." Jerry said and copied Bobby's previous actions.

Angel walked over next.

"We're gonna to set everything straight today Jackie-poo. We're going to make everyone remember not to mess with the Mercer's. Especially now that they got us mad after what they did to you. We'll come back in one piece though and then we'll take care of you until you're back to yourself again. See you in a while Jackie. I love ya little bro."

Angel placed a kiss on Jack's forehead before standing back with his brother's as they took one last look at Jack and their mother before they slowly left the hospital room.

Evelyn sat back down on the chair and looked down at Jack.

"Jackie," she whispered. "I know that your brother's will come through and come back to us. The one thing they could always do without any problems was get the people who had hurt you. They'll never really know but that was one thing I was proud of them for. They always looked out for you Jackie. I'm so glad they still do. They'll come back, you'll get better and we'll be a family again."

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Jerry rubbed his hands together in an attempt to warm them up. He was extremely nervous about what was going to happen.

He stood out on the frozen lake watching as Victor Sweet tried to figure out which of his men was going to challenge him and take him out. Little did he know, it wasn't any of them.

The plan had gone as they wanted so far. Angel had taken out Fowler and Jerry had managed to turn Sweet's men against him. There was just one last thing to take care of. As soon as Bobby showed up, then everything would be taken care of.

"Come on now. Who's gonna do it huh? Who da man here?" Sweet questioned eyeing each person around him. "Which one of you tough guys is gonna do it? Who's gonna take on the champ? You Johnny?"

Sweet froze when he spotted something in the white distance. A person making their way over to them. Closer and closer the person came until everyone was able to clearly see who it was.

"Yeah." Jerry cheered clapping.

"Is this who I think it is? Is that what ya'll been waiting on?" Sweet mused.

"You alright Jerry?" Bobby asked pulling out his pistol and handing it to his brother.

"Yeah, I'm straight." Jerry answered taking the gun and slipping it in his pocket.

"Oh, Bobby Mercer." Sweet chuckled. "Back in town. You gonna be the one man? Bring it on baby. What you got?"

Bobby and Sweet removed their jackets.

Bobby reached to his neck, took hold of his youngest brother's rosary and kissed it before tucking it under his shirt.

Jerry watched as the fight began.

Sweet and Bobby were exchanging fists, nearly getting the advantage each time. He was scared that his older brother would make slip-up and it cost him the fight and his life. Still he continued to shout words of encouragement to him.

Finally Bobby gained the upperhand in the fight. It was at this point that Jerry knew Bobby would win.

"This is what you get for trying to kill my mother!" Bobby shouted with a right hook. "This is for trying to kill my baby brother!" Left hook. "And this to remember not to mess with the Mercers!"

Right hook and Sweet went down.

The men cheered and praised Bobby before they dunked the lifeless body of Victor Sweet into the icy water.

"Way to go man." Jerry said handing Bobby his jacket. "So what are we gonna do about the police?"

"Police?" Bobby repeated casually. "Cops love the Mercers, Jerry."

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Bobby grunted when another punch landed on him.

"D**n, you girls are trying to kill me." he exclaimed and was practically thrown onto a chair.

"So let me ask you again. What happened to Victor Sweet, Mercer?"

"You might want to close your ears. This is some nasty s**t." Bobby said. " 'Til about five thirty p.m. to about eleven or so last night, I was banging that pretty little wife of yours. Ok? There's the tru..."

Bobby groaned when another fist landed on his cheek and he found himself being held down onto the table with a small plastic bag in front of him.

"What do you got now?"

"Your hair scumbag. Taken off Victor Sweet's dead body." The officer declared only for Bobby to laugh.

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Evelyn stood when her boys walked into the room. They each looked roughed up but she had seen them look worse. _Much_ worse.

"We're fine Ma." Bobby said before she asked. "Everything is ok now."

"I just wish that you could come out of things like this looking less beaten honey." she said brushing his hair from his face.

"Ma." Bobby weakly chuckled ducking from her hand before turning to see Jack still lying peacefully in his bed.

"How's he doin'?" Angel asked walking around the bed to stand on the other side.

"He's still fighting." Evelyn answered sitting back down on her chair.

Bobby sighed feeling helpless. He had never felt so helpless before. He hadn't been able to keep Jack safe, hadn't been able to get to him before he was further shot, and now all he could do was wait to see if he could pull through on his own.

Hours had gone by and soon only Bobby and Evelyn were sitting in the room. Jerry had to get back to his family and Angel went back to their home to clean up what he could and get some rest.

Bobby and Evelyn had tried to convince each other to return with Angel to rest but both had refused and ended up having pillows and quilts brought to them for the over night stay.

The sounds of the heart monitor and oxygen tanks were the only noise in the room. The eyes of the mother and older brother were glued on Jack's sleeping face. A sort of peace had seemed to float down onto the youngest Mercer brother, making him look both more delicate and fragile than ever.

Evelyn easily spied the look of guilt and sorrow that covered Bobby's face as well as a look of weariness.

"Bobby, you should sleep honey." she said softly.

"I can't." Bobby muttered pathetically not taking his eyes off Jack. "Every time I close my eyes...I see him there. Bleeding. Yelling for help. I can't sleep because I know I'll dream that we didn't get to him in time."

"Bobby." Evelyn whispered softly.

"I feel like this is my fault." Bobby declared softly as tears started to gather in the corner's of his eyes. "I'm his big brother. I'm suppose to watch over and protect him. But I didn't and he's paying the price for my mistake."

"Robert Mercer!"

Bobby snapped his head up when he heard his real name. Only his mother could get his attention like that.

"Do you think Jackie is blaming you for what's happened to him?" she asked seriously.

Bobby looked at his mother with unreadable eyes.

"He was calling for you when he was hurt." she continued. "He was looking to you for help. You were the one he trusted first when he became part of the family. You were always there for him when he needed you and your never once let him down."

"Until now." Bobby replied. "I always tried to be there for him. I promised him that I would be there when he needed me. That was the first promise I made him when he became my baby brother."

"Bobby, I know that it doesn't seem like it but you _have_ kept your promise. You're here right now when Jack needs you most. You're watching over him like a good big brother. I'm sure this is what he wants."

Bobby looked down at his youngest brother. His mother, as usual, was right. He's here with Jack. Here when he's needed most by his baby brother.

_Jackie, I'm not ever going to let you down again. I promise._ Bobby thought as his eyes closed and he drifted to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**By: MysticFantasy**

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Six painfully slow days had passed since the shootout.

News of what had happened quickly spread around the city and kind volunteers had joined together to help the Mercer family repair their home and even had fundraisers to help for medical bills.

Evelyn had been so touched that so many people were willing to help her. Bobby, Angel and Jerry had told her that she deserved it after all those years she had done so much for everyone else.

In no time the Mercer house was restored to its former glory, looking as if nothing had ever happened to it.

Everyday of those six days the Mercer family spent as much time as possible with Jack who had yet to wake up. Everyday the doctor would explain that his body was just healing and needed rest.

Everyday they sat in their same spots, everyday Jack slept through their visit, everyday they quietly asked him to wake up and everyday ended the same as the day before.

Though the six days had seemed to take forever, a lot of things happened to each member of the Mercer family.

Bobby had announced that he would move back to help Evelyn more and help take care of Jack when he woke up and was released from the hospital.

Jerry had recieved a letter announcing that his loans were open again and he would be able to start his business from where he left off. He had right away shared the news with his family and had started getting to work on his project the first chance he could.

Angel had proposed to Sofi and his leave time was extended for him to plan his wedding. He was given a hard time about asking Sofi to marry him by Bobby but he knew his brother meant well.

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[_**Henry Ford Hospital**_]

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The family of four quietly walked out of the elevator and down the hall toward the room where Jack had been kept the past week.

As they neared his room they saw the door open and a doctor walk out holding a clipboard in his hands.

"Dr. Thomps?" Evelyn called as they neared him.

"Oh, hello everyone. Just in time to hear of Jack's latest condition." Dr. Thomps greeted.

"Is he ok?" Bobby asked.

"His condition changed Mr. Mercer." Dr. Thomps answered.

"How? Is he alright?" Jerry asked calmly.

"Well, good news is that he woke up about two hours ago." Dr. Thomps started.

"He did?" Angel asked with hope heavy in his voice and on his face.

"Yes but that's not the concerning part. I'm afraid there's a bit of bad news." Dr. Thomps continued. "When he woke up we did a few tests to make sure that he was alright and everything was working correctly. Unfortunately, we found something troubling."

"What is it?" Evelyn asked with heavy concern.

"Jack's suffering traumatic amnesia."

"Amnesia?" Bobby repeated unsure if he heard right.

"In order to deal with the shock of what happened at your home, his mind somehow blocked out the memories of him being caught in the crossfire. At the same time though, the rest of his memories were blocked out. He has no idea how he ended up here, he can't recall anything about his life before waking up...He doesn't even remember his own name."

"So...he's not gonna remember who we are?" Jerry asked trying to hold back a sob.

"I'm afraid not." Dr. Thomps answered.

"Is there a way to fix this?" Bobby asked a bit impatiently.

"When it comes to amnesia, there's no sure way to cure it. Medicine wise anyway. Something like this can only be fixed with time but I have to tell you now that there could be a chance that Jack's amnesia may be permenant. If it's not then it can only be overcome with time and patience."

_Time and patience. He says it like it's no big deal._ Bobby thought angrilly.

"You can try to help by showing him a few family pictures or try saying something like an old nickname that might trigger something like an emotion flashback. A nickname that he did or didn't like."

"I've got one in mind." Bobby muttered.

"Try and see if it works. If he's able to feel a sort of familarity of any kind it'll be a positive start to helping him recover. Now natrually he's going to be untrusting of anyone he'll come in contact with but it's to be expected. Just try to slowly earn his trust and he should become more comfortable around you."

_This is just like when he was first brought to us._ Evelyn thought remembering the day that she met Jack and had brought him home. It took nearly nine months for him to trust them. Now they would have to do it all over again.

"He's awake right now so you can go ahead and visit. Someone will be back to check on him in a few hours."

"Thank you doctor." Evelyn said.

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The family of four quietly walked into the room and right away spotted Jack leaning against his pillows on the reclined bed with an untouched plate of what looked to now be cold food in front of him on an extended rolling tray.

The eyes of the youngest brother were open but held a blank expression. He looked tired but at the same time he looked unsettled. Most likely wondering how he ended up in a hospital with bullet wounds and now couldn't remember his life before waking up.

He didn't look up when the four walked in nor did he bother to even move. He stayed perfectly still.

"Hey Jack." Bobby greeted walking over to stand by the bedside.

Jack's eyes looked over to him, his gaze now holding curiosity and uncertainty.

"How you feeling little brother?" Jerry asked as the rest of them came to stand with Bobby.

"Who are you?" Jack asked casually.

"We're your family." Angel answered.

Jack looked at everyone with an unreadable look on his face.

"It's true Jack." Bobby said. "The three of us are your big brother's and this is Evelyn, our mom."

"Sorry, I don't see the resemblance." Jack said.

"Yeah there's not much resemblance but it's the truth Jack."

"Why do you keep calling me that?"

"What? Jack? That's your name."

"It is?"

"Yeah. Your name is Jackson but everyone has always called you Jack. Like with me. My real name is Robert but I always go by Bobby. We got little nicknames for you too. Sometimes we call you Jackie, I call you a fairy every now and then."

"Why?"

Bobby saw the confused look on Jack's face and realized that using the nickname didn't trigger anything like he had hoped.

"It was just something that I called you and you didn't like."

Jack simply nodded.

Everyone noticed that he just seemed to accept what he was told. It was all too much like when he was a child. He just accepted what was tossed at him.

"Anyway, how do you feel?" Jerry asked.

"A little tired and sore."

"You want to rest for a while?" Angel asked.

Jack didn't answer as the doctor walked back in and asked to have a word with Evelyn. The blond woman walked out of the room with the doctor, leaving the brother's alone.

"Were you serious before?" Jack suddenly asked.

"About what?" Angel asked.

"About us being brothers."

"Yeah, we're serious Jack." Bobby answered. "I'm the oldest, Jerry is second, then it's Angel and you're the youngest. But the reason we don't share any kind of resemblance is because all four of us were adopted by Evelyn. We were all foster kids with some pretty rough backgrounds. Mom was the only one who gave us all a chance and she made us her sons. She helped us a lot. More than anyone else ever did."

"Does any of that sound familiar?" Jerry asked hopefully.

Jack slowly shook his head.

Bobby, Jerry and Angel felt their hearts sink a little. They knew this was going to be hard for Jack. They just hoped that the recovery of his memories would be before the recovery from his physical injuries.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**By: MysticFantasy**

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Evelyn watched as Jack looked through the photo album she had brough with her. It was photo's containing the family when Jack had been in his teen years and the other boys were a little older.

Jack looked at each picture carefully before going onto the next and then turning to the next page. He eventually came to a photo that took the space of one page. His graduation photo. He looked at the year number on the tassle.

"I graduated in 2003?" he asked.

"That's right Jackie. That was only two years ago." Evelyn answered.

"So what have I been doing these past years? Am I in college?"

"No. Two days after you graduated you left to New York."

"Why?"

"You wanted to try get a career in music." She answered. "You're a very gifted guitarist and you were making a name for yourself but the chance you've been waiting for hasn't come yet."

"What kind of music do I like?"

"Mostly punk rock." Evelyn answered. "Bobby was always giving you a hard time about it when you would play it at night or early in the morning saying he didn't need that kind of wake up call."

"What does he do for a living?" Jack asked curiously as he placed the open album on his lap. "He doesn't seem like a business kind of person."

Evelyn chuckled. "You're right about that Jackie. Bobby used to be a professional hockey player. He was one of the toughest players to ever be in the league but his temper and 'toughness' got him into a lot of fights that eventually gave the league no choice but to let him go. He's been living in Chicago for a while working at some kind of night club but he's decided to move back home."

"What about Jeremiah and Angel?"

"Jerry was a big part of the Union for a few years. He's started a local business that's still being constructed. So far he's the only family man. His wife's name is Camille and he's got two little girls. Daniela and Amelia. Angel on the other hand is in the Marines. He joined after he graduated and has been in ever since. Next year will be his last year though and he says he's going to come back home as soon as it's done. He does have a lady friend named Sofi but none of us are really too fond of her because she has her little crazy moments and she usually tries to keep Angel to herself. You'll meet all of them when we take you back home though."

Just as she stopped talking and Jack went back to looking at the album on his lap, the door to the room opened and in walked Bobby.

"Hey Ma. Hey Jack. How ya feelin' little brother?" he greeted shutting the door and walking over to stand on the other side of his brother.

"I'm ok." Jack answered.

"Looking at our baby pictures?"

"They're not baby pictures Bobby." Evelyn said managing to hide a sad tone as she spoke. She wished that she had pictures of the boys when they had been little babies but the youngest photo's she had of them were when Bobby was thirteen, Jerry was twelve, Angel was fourteen and Jack when he was eight.

Jack was silent as he continued to look at the photo's. Bobby and Evelyn tried to pick up his emotions but Jack had always been an expert on covering how he would be feeling. He wouldn't smile at the embarrassing pictures, question the ones that looked odd or anything.

It was almost like he couldn't believe that he was the one in the pictures.

Evelyn's phone rang.

"I'll take this outside. Be right back." she said getting her phone and heading out into the hallway.

Bobby watched her go and then turned back to Jack.

"Anything look familiar at all?" he asked.

"No." Jack answered simply as he closed the album. "Sorry."

"Hey, don't be sorry Jack. It's not your fault. Don't feel bad. It'll come back to you soon." Bobby said sitting on the edge of the bed facing his brother and placing a gentle hand on his uninjured shoulder.

"What was I like?" Jack asked looking at Bobby with curious eyes.

Bobby lightly smiled.

"There's a lot of things you were Jack." he started. "Quiet. Shy. Artistic. I guess you were the total little brother package. You were an emotional one but I had always admired that about you. You were always able to freely express yourself and I never could do that. When you picked up your guitar and started playing everyone would stop what they were doing to listen. You've got a natural gift for music and you sure can sing. You're probably the smartest out of the four of us. Sure Jerry is the business man but you were the only one of us to have the chance to go to college. You were naturally book smart and that was something I was jealous of. You also had this sense of knowing when to quit before something bad happened. You were like the voice of reason a lot of the time. I guess to put it short Jack, you were smart, talented and a free spirit."

Jack faintly smiled hearing what he was like before loosing his memories.

"And what about us? Like a brotherly bond. What was that like?" Jack asked.

"I'd like to think it was pretty alright." Bobby answered. "I mean, yeah I admit there were times when I'd go totally overprotective big brother on you but I can't help it. You're the baby of us and I always try to make sure that you're ok. I've seen you hurt enough to know that I don't want to see you like that anymore."

"What kind of past did I have?" Jack asked. "It sounds like...I probably shouldn't even be alive."

"Believe me Jack, if it wasn't for random inspections you probably wouldn't have made it long enough for mom to find you. I don't want to go into detail about your past but all of the things that happened to you...I never thought _anyone_ could do that to a little kid. What shocked us more than anything was that you still somehow had this untouched innocence left inside you. Like no matter how horrible your past was you still remained so sweet and caring. That was something that didn't happen to me, Jerry and Angel. We lost all goodness in us a long time before mom found us."

"I don't think that's true." Jack said.

"Why?"

"If you had lost all kindness then you wouldn't be sitting here with me right now. You said yourself how protective you are of us. I think it takes some kind of goodness to do that."

Bobby lightly smiled. "I think you're right Jackie. I gotta have something in me to look after you clowns all the time."

Jack smiled and, for the first time since finding out what was wrong with his brother, Bobby felt that things were starting to look a little better.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

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**By: MysticFantasy**

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Jack looked out the window of the van and saw what looked to be a quiet little neighborhood. There were mostly two stories houses and a light blanket of snow still covered the ground. It looked rather nice to him.

"This is our hood Jackie." Bobby said from the passenger seat.

"Bobby." Evelyn lightly chuckled as she drove down the street.

"Do we know a lot of people around here?" Jack asked.

"Kinda sorta." Bobby answered. "It's mostly due to our reputations that people know us and we know them."

"Seriously, you can tell me. Were we gangsters?"

Bobby and Angel lightly chuckled at Jack's question. They had informed their youngest brother on bits and pieces of their reputation as brother's and needless to say Jack right away believed that the four of them were part of a gang that broke apart when he got hurt.

"No Jack. We weren't gangsters." Angel assured his brother. "We were just really wild is all."

"_Very_ wild." Bobby added.

Jack lightly smirked as he cast his eyes forward to see the street they were heading down. He shut his eyes for a few seconds as he suddenly felt a familiar feeling fall over him.

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_He was much smaller but still on the skinny side. His little legs were hanging a few inches from the floor and and a small black bag was on his lap. _

_He looked up and saw that there was a older man driving that was slightly over weight. He was dressed in a fine looking suit whereas Jack was wearing oversized and worn out clothing. _

_He felt the car come to a stop and looked out the window to see where he was._

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"Wake up Jackie-poo." Angel said lightly shaking his brother's shoulder.

"Huh?"

Jack hadn't even realized he had dazed out until Angel shook him.

"Oh. Sorry. Guess I spaced out." Jack said.

"Don't worry about it Jack. You always get a little tired during a drive." Bobby said opening the door and stepping out.

Jack looked out the window and saw that they had pulled into a driveway to a two storied house with a closed off front porch.

"Welcome home Jackie." Evelyn said sweetly as Bobby helped Jack climb out of the van.

With Bobby's help, Jack soon found himself walking through the front door of the house and was now standing inside.

Right away he felt a warm and comforting atmosphere. It felt safe.

"Feel familiar?" Bobby asked.

"Actually, it does. A little. Definately feels like I've been here before." Jack answered as they made their way into the living room.

"Do you want to look around Jackie?" Evelyn asked.

"Can I?"

"Yeah. Come on. Maybe seeing some of the family photo's will help you remember something." Bobby said helping Jack move toward the dining room.

Jack looked at everything as they walked through the living room. It looked like a regular living room but didn't really give him any kind of vibes. Walking into the dining room, Jack spotted a few photo's hanging on the wall.

The four biggest pictures were head shots of himself, Bobby, Angel and Jerry. There were also pictures of Jerry standing with a woman and two young girls as well as group shots of the four of them and their mother.

"Who are they?" Jack asked pointing to the picture of Jerry with the mystery woman and two girls.

"That's Jerry's wife Camille and his daughters Amelia and Daniela." Angel answered.

"Do we see them often?"

"Not as much as we'd like to." Bobby answered. "Camille was never able to look past how the four of us were before mom adopted us. Jerry changed the most out of us and that was enough for her to like him. She hasn't totally accepted the three of us though and because of that we don't get to see the girls much."

"I see."

"But they will be coming by later to visit." Evelyn said.

"Come on Jack. Let's get you to your room. Maybe you'll remember something there." Bobby declared.

Jack nodded and quickly found himself being carried by Bobby as they walked toward and up the stairs.

His legs were doing fine but Bobby didn't believe anything the doctor had said about Jack being ready to walk on his own with the help of crutches after a month of physical therapy with continuing sessions still to come.

After being carried up the stairs Jack could understand why Bobby didn't want him walking up them on his own.

As soon as they reached the second floor, Bobby gently placed his brother down and motioned him to the second door to their left. Angel went ahead to open the door and Jack followed him in.

"Man, I was messy." he exclaimed.

"Not really. It just went with your punk rock ego." Bobby stated with a grin.

"Well, since I don't remember my ego, I'm definately going to clean this place up." Jack declared.

"Mom will be happy to hear that." Bobby said. "I still haven't gotten around to cleaning my room. I'm not looking forward to that."

"You never look forward to any cleaning." Angel stated making Jack smirk as he looked around the room. He looked toward the bed and right away spotted a guitar case on the floor leaning against the side of the headboard.

"That mine?" he asked curiously.

"Of course. That's your guitar." Bobby answered and helped Jack sit on the bed before handing his brother his prized guitar.

Jack tried to hold the guitar but quickly became confused and switched holding it before returning to the first way he held it.

"How do I hold this thing?" he asked.

_D**n amnesia!_ Bobby screamed in his head. _It's bad enough to make Jack forget how to play his guitar and he played that thing almost every day._

"Well, you usually hold it like this." Bobby said showing Jack how he held it. "Don't ask me how to play because right now you still know more than me."

Jack slowly plucked at each string but it sounded very out of tune and like he was hitting nothing but wrong notes. He sighed and handed the instrument to Angel.

"I better stop before I break it." he said.

"You sure Jackie?" Angel asked slowly taking hold of his brother's guitar.

Jack nodded and watched the guitar being placed back in the case. He did admit that it did feel familiar when he held it but it seemed a little off at the same time. Like putting on a shirt and not realizing that it was backwards until someone pointed it out.

"Don't feel bad Jack. It'll come back to ya." Bobby said reassuringly. "Then you can keep me up all night like you always do."

Jack weakly smiled, glad to know something about himself despite how small a detail it was. He was just glad to know a little more about himself.

So far all he knew was that he had been adopted into the Mercer family at a young age, he played guitar, he was part of a band and his brother's teased him about many things. But the teasing had been rare since he had woken up.

It almost seemed like his three big brother's were being gentle with him and Jack guessed that it was because of his amnesia. He knew that he wouldn't remember anything if they kept being gentle with him.

How was he suppose to remember what his family was like if they weren't acting like themselves?

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It had only been two hours that Jack was back home and it felt like old times in many ways but at the same time Bobby knew that things were completely different.

It was just like when Jack had first stepped foot in the Mercer house. Only this time he wasn't a scared child who'd just managed to survive nearly dying of starvation and severe neglection.

This time Jack had just managed to survive being shot and is suffering amnesia.

Bobby looked up from the tv when he saw Jack limp into the room with his right arm in the sling the hospital gave him.

"What are you doing walking around on your own?" Bobby asked jumping up and helping Jack over to the couch to sit down.

"Just wanted to come ask you a question." Jack answered. "Am I bothering you?"

"No. Of course not Jack. What'd you want to ask me?"

"Who's are these?" Jack asked holding out a pack of cigarettes. "I found them in my bag when I was unpacking."

Bobby took the pack from his hand and looked straight at his brother. "Yours." he answered.

"I smoke?" Jack asked sounding a little surprised. "But...I'm only...only...How old am I anyway?"

"Twenty." Bobby answered placing the pack back in Jack's hand. "And yeah, you smoke. You've been smoking since you were a teenager. Maybe even before then. You were able to hide things pretty well from us so we have no idea when you had started that little habit."

Jack looked at the pack in his hand. "I don't think I wanted to remember I smoked."

"Well, you didn't really remember. I just informed you when you found them."

"Have I tried to quit?"

"We've tried to get you to stop and you have tried but something always seemed to get you to go straight back to them. Nerves or something."

Jack lightly squeezed the pack in his hand. "I think I want to try again."

"Guess you have a better chance of trying now since you don't really remember anything to make you go back to them." Bobby said with a slightly hurt tone.

He was glad that Jack was saying he wanted to try to quit smoking but he didn't like that he was trying because he doesn't have any particular reason to. Bobby was sure that Jack had started smoking to ease his nerves and himself from the horrible memories of his past before becoming a Mercer.

But right now Jack doesn't remember anything from his past and was quitting just because he heard he had tried to before and never managed to succeed.

The older brother was glad that Jack doesn't remember his horrible childhood but at the same time he hated that Jack didn't remember anything else about his life. He doesn't remember becoming the youngest brother, doesn't remember learning how to skate to play hockey, doesn't remember the first words he spoke to his new family...

"So what are you watching?" Jack asked throwing the pack of cigarettes into the nearest trash can.

"Hockey game. It's about the only thing I'll ever watch." Bobby answered.

"You really like hockey huh?"

"Sure do. It was how I was able to control my anger."

"Anger? Control? When did that happen?" Angel exclaimed walking into the room.

"Shut it Angel!"

"Yeah, it worked alright." Angel mocked before heading upstairs.

"Whatever. More or less, it helped me get some of my agression out and my temper a little under control." Bobby said to Jack. "When the three of you became my brother's I tried the same thing to you guys and it did help. Jerry calmed down, Angel realized he likes sports and it helped you be a little more up front."

"Guess I was a shy kid."

"Kinda." Bobby said. "Quiet if anything else."

"No offence Bobby but I get the feeling that you're keeping quiet about a lot of stuff."

"Well, yea, I am. But believe me, it's some stuff that you'd be better off not remembering."

"Then I guess that means I'd be better off not knowing my family too."

Bobby snapped his head to Jack and saw a slightly sour expression on his brother's face.

"No Jack, I didn't mean it in that way. What I meant is...your childhood before becoming our little brother wasn't exactly the best childhood. You'd have nightmares thinking you were still in those other homes and one of us would have to snap you back to reality to get you to see that you were just having bad dreams..."

"I was a neglected kid wasn't I?" Jack interrupted.

Bobby sighed heavily before nodding his head.

"You were a wreck before mom found you. But once you came here you got better and had a better life. We hate that you had to carry the memories of your past around but we don't like that you can't remember us either. I don't want you to remember your childhood before us but if it comes back there's nothing I can do about it."

"Do you know about my life before I came here?"

"A little. I don't know everything. Not even mom does. Not everything was covered in your files and you never talked about it. We just had an idea because of obvious evidence. But we never judged you or anything like that. We knew that you were an innocent kid. Once you were here and you saw that you were safe I guess you slowly started to forget."

"Maybe it'll stay that way." Jack said as he stood.

"We can only hope Cracker Jack." Bobby said. "You heading back upstairs?"

"Are you gonna carry me up there like last time if I say yes?"

"Yep."

"Then no."

"You were never able to lie Jackie."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**By: MysticFantasy**

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_This bed is so comfortable._ Jack thought to himself as he laid in his bed. He'd woken up a few minutes ago but had decided to just lay there for a while and enjoy the quiet atmosphere.

Today marked the first week that he's been there. So far he's learned very little about his life before the incident and has yet to remember a single thing on his own. It was annoying and frustrating at the same time.

Jack found that Evelyn was a wonderful mother. She listened to what he had to say, comforted him when it was obvious he was troubled about something and kept him company when he needed it most.

Jack hated that he kept Evelyn awake at night due to his nightmares. He would dream something so horrible that he would randomly scream in his sleep. He would then be awakened by either Evelyn, Bobby or Angel and his nightmare would quickly be as forgotten as the rest of his life.

He could never remembered what it was that he dreamt that scared him so bad but he was grateful for the comfort Evelyn, Bobby and Angel gave him.

With a slight yawn, Jack sat up and managed to stand from the bed.

Thankfully his legs were strong enough to where he could walk short distances on his own. He would try to walk around the house on his own but someone always found out what he was doing and kept an eye on him.

He didn't really mind too much. He doesn't remember how things were before and just assumed that because he was the youngest of the brother's that he was always looked after. He did like the attention he was getting from his family but at the same time it felt awkward.

Walking out of his room, Jack saw that the bathroom was available and took the chance to use it. Something else he had quickly learned was that with four people living in the house with only one bathroom it was hard to get a chance to have it alone for a few minutes.

He finished taking care of his business and walked over to the sink. He had just put some toothpaste on his toothbrush when the door opened and someone walked in.

"Guess we were comfortable walking in on each other." Jack figured and started to brush his teeth.

"Hey, we're brother's. We did it all the time." Bobby replied with a shrug. "Sometimes at the worst possible times. But we saw it as natural."

"Natural?" Jack questioned after rinsing his mouth. "Natural to walk in on someone while they were on the toilet?"

"You know what I mean Jack." Bobby chuckled messing up his brother's already messy hair. "Anyway, you sleep alright?"

"Yeah. Thankfully. No nightmares. I feel bad waking you guys up like that."

"Hey, don't worry about it." Bobby said placing an arm around Jack's shoulders. "We just wanna know that you're alright. Come on. Let's get some breakfast."

Jack nodded and followed Bobby out of the bathroom, was carried down the stairs against his will and sat at the dinning room table while Bobby brought over two different cereal boxes, bowls, spoons and the milk.

"So, feel like doing anything today?" Bobby asked.

"Can we get out of the house for a while? I'm been in here for the past week and I'm getting a little cabin fever."

"Sure. Got any place in mind?"

"Where would we hang out before?" Jack asked.

"Usually the four of us would hang out at the ice rink to play a hockey game or we'd just hang out anywhere that seemed interesting at the time." Bobby answered. "Really, now that I think about it, we could never agree on one place that wasn't the bar."

"Just as long as I can be outside for a while." Jack said with a small chuckle.

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Bobby had informed Jack that they would have to hang out together in the afternoon once Jerry got out of work.

Jack understood and had planted himself on the couch to watch a movie that was on. The movie turned out not to be very interesting but he kept watching because it was the only thing on worth watching.

He looked over toward the kitchen where his mother was looking through the cupboards and fridge while making what seemed to be a grocery list.

He picked himself up from the couch and limped over to the kitchen.

"Hi mom. What are you doing?" Jack asked.

"Making a list of things we need from the store." Evelyn answered. "Would you like something to snack on?"

"No thanks. Can I go with you though? Bobby said that we can't hang out until Jerry gets out of work."

"Of course honey. It's been a long time since any of you came shopping with me. You're really the only one who would come with me anyway."

"Why?"

"Well, you're the only one who learned how to cook. Your brother's never learned so they never know what I'm talking about when we go to the store. They relied on you so much whenever I would work late or when I wasn't around to cook."

Jack lightly chuckled. After a few minutes he found himself sitting in the passangers seat of his mother's van as they drove down the street. The whole time he was looking out the window and taking in all the sights until he felt the van start to slow down.

He looked out the window and saw a small corner store. At that moment, Jack felt the same weariness he had felt when he was released from the hospital and on his way home.

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_"Last night we found out it wasn't random. Witness was paid and the whole gang story was some bulls**t."_

_"Are you serious man?"_

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"Jackie? Are you alright honey?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry." Jack said quickly snapping himself out of his daze. "Wow. I do that a lot."

"Are you sure you're ok Jackie?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Alright sweetheart. Well let's go inside." Evelyn said.

Jack climbed out of the van and followed his mother into the store. He grabbed a shopping cart and followed his mother down the small aisles as she picked up a few items and placed them in the cart.

"Mom, how old was I when you adopted me?"

Evelyn's hand froze on a bag of carrots.

"Did you remember?" she asked.

"No. When I was still in the hospital I told Bobby that I didn't see any kind of family ties or resemblance and he admitted that the four of us were adopted. How old was I?"

"You were nine when I first saw you." Evelyn started. "You were such an adorable little boy but you were scared to death about the world around you because of all the bad things that had happened to you. I brought you home but you got even more afraid when you met Bobby, Jerry and Angel because you thought they were going to hurt you. But they made a breakthrough somehow and after that it seemed like you were finally coming out of your shell a little. Then I adopted you. After that it seemed like you were starting to accept the news that you finally had a home and a family. I adopted you on your tenth birthday."

"I was so young." Jack said.

"You were and so much had happened to you. It was amazing that you were still such a sweet little child. You fit into the Mercer family perfectly but somehow you were able to stay out of trouble more than your brother's."

"Were you ever bored with us around?" Jack asked with a bit of a smirk.

"Never." Evelyn answered with a smile. "Bobby was really my source of 'entertainment'. Always coming up with something new. Luckily, you were the only one who didn't have a police record."

"So I was the only 'good' one?"

"Good in the term that you never went to jail? Yes. You did have a few problems with school but those were normal. You were really the only one I never really had to worry about."

Jack absorbed his mother's words. He was a little relieved to know that he hadn't been a criminal but at the same time it sounded like the other three Mercer boys were tougher than any kind of professional boxer or hit man. It made him sound weak and he didn't like it.

But he saw how happy his mother had looked when she had said that he was the one she never had too much to worry about and deicded that it was best that he stayed the way he was.

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"There you both are." Bobby exclaimed walking into the kitchen as Evelyn and Jack were putting away the groceries. "Where'd you go?"

"Just to the store." Evelyn answered and held up a Baby Ruth candy bar.

"Best mother ever!" Bobby exclaimed taking the candy bar and kissing his mother's cheek as she chuckled. "Jerry's gonna be out of work in about an hour. Alright Jack?"

"Ok."

"Have fun shopping?" Bobby lightly teased. "After all, you are Mommies..."

"Bobby." Evelyn lightly scolded.

"Her little baker."

The two looked over to Jack who was standing perfectly still while holding onto a carton of orange juice. He slowly looked over to the two.

"That's what you called me when I would cook." he said.

Bobby smiled. "Yeah, it is what we called you." he said.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**By: MysticFantasy**

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.

"So because I knew how to cook for myself, and for you appearantly, you made fun of me and called me Mommies little baker?"

"Pretty much."

"I'm gonna guess we have a different look on humor." Jack said with a smirk. "I knew how to do this stuff and was made fun of for it while you on the other hand had no clue what you were doing and weren't questioned about it."

"Bull's eye Jackie." Bobby said with a grin before wiping his mouth with his napkin. "But when I tease you don't take it serious. I only do it cause it's like a rule of brotherhood. The oldest brother makes fun of the youngest. If it makes you feel any better, there are a lot of times when you outsmart me at things."

"I thought Jerry was the smart one."

"You're the second." Bobby said before taking a bite of his turkey.

"Let's just say that you and Jerry are the brains while Angel and Bobby are the muscle." Evelyn said with a smile.

The sound of the front door opening caught their attention and Jerry appeared.

"Hey everyone." Jerry greeted.

"Hi honey. Have you eatten yet?" Evelyn asked.

"Not really."

"Grab a plate man. Plenty left since Angel isn't back from La Vida Loca's." Bobby said.

"Who?" Jack asked.

"Her name is Sofi but I call her La Vida Loca cause she's a crazy spanish girl. She's Angel's on and off again easy lay girlfriend." Bobby explained.

"Bobby." Evelyn scolded.

"What? She is."

"You'll meet her eventually Jack." Jerry said sitting next to his brother. "You feeling any better?"

"Yeah. I remembered a silly nickname you guys called me." Jack answered.

"Which one?" Jerry asked.

"Mommies little baker." Jack answered.

Jerry chuckled. "I thought for sure the first nickname you would have remembered would be the fairy one." he said.

"I'm still not clear on that one." Jack said.

"Believe me Jackie, I'll tell you when the timing is good." Bobby said. "Something only I can really explain anyway."

Jack nodded.

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"You need to quit plowing La Vida Loca so much Angel and start spending more time with your family." Bobby declared as they drove down the street in Jerry's car.

"Shut up man. I'm gonna marry her soon. And don't be hatin' just cause you ain't gettin' any." Angel replied.

"Angel, you get enough for all of us." Bobby said. "Probably get crabs or something just by bein' around you."

Jack bit his lip to keep from laughing. Bobby was making Angel sound like he got around more than all of the hookers in Detroit.

"So where do you guys wanna go?" Jerry asked breaking through the argument.

"Let's try Johnny G's." Bobby answered. "Haven't been there in a while."

"What's that?" Jack asked.

"Our favorite bar Jackie-poo." Angel answered.

"Am I allowed in there? I'm only twenty."

"You're allowed. Even if you weren't, you're also a Mercer." Bobby stated. "Mercer's were never ones to follow rules. At least not after I came around."

"Ain't that the truth." Jerry muttered loud enough to be heard.

"Seriously, gangsters?" Jack asked causing the three to laugh.

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"Mercer's. Ain't seen you in a while." an overweight balding man declared seeing the four brother's walk in.

"Has been a while huh Johnny?" Bobby replied shaking hands with the man.

"Just a few weeks. How you doin' Jack?" Johnny asked.

"Doing fine. Thanks." Jack answered.

"Glad to see you still kickin'. But you've been around Bobby all your life. Anyone can survive being around him than everything else seems like a walk in the park."

"Hey. I resent that." Bobby declared as they walked to a table for four.

"What'll it by guys?" Johnny asked.

"Usual. Only soda for Jack though. He's on meds." Bobby answered as they sat.

Jack looked around the bar. Since it was still mid-afternoon there weren't many people. The walls were lined with sport jersies or equipment. Mostly hockey related and involving the Redwings. His curiosity grew when he saw a Redwings jersey hanging in a frame with the name Mercer over the numbers.

"Seem familiar Jackie?" Angel asked.

"Kinda." Jack answered facing his brother's. "I definately feel like I've been here before."

"Oh you've been here before." Bobby said knowingly as Johnny came back with three shot glasses, a bottle of whisky and a can of soda.

The youngest popped open his can of soda when it was handed to him and was about to take a drink when he suddenly said. "Jack drinks Jack."

"Hey, you remembered." Jerry said with a smile. "You'd say that whenever you'd take a shot."

"Wow. Usually people come here to forget stuff. Guess it's opposite for today." Bobby said pouring whiskey into the shot glasses.

"How often would we come here?" Jack asked and finally took a sip of his soda.

"Not very often. Maybe once every week or two." Bobby answered. "We always had something going on and couldn't hang out as much as we'd like to. But now we have all the time we want. Maybe in a few days we can go to the ice rink and show you how we played hockey."

"You may remember something right away if Bobby's the one trying to remind you Jackie." Jerry stated.

"Hey, I was in the league."

"Yeah yeah and that's where you got that stupid nickname." Jerry replied.

"Can you remember what they called me in the league Jack?" Bobby asked.

A look of thought crossed Jack's face as he tried to recall the nickname Bobby had when he was a pro athlete.

"Michigan...Michigan..." he muttered before his eyes widened and he said. "Michigan Mauler."

"Alright Jack!" Angel cheered patting his brother on the back.

"I think this amnesia is starting to wear off a little." Bobby said with a smile. "Guess going to our regular places and talking about regular things are helping."

"Mom will be happy." Jerry said with a smile.

"Remember anything else Jack?" Bobby asked.

"Not really." Jack answered. "Sorta."

"What is it?" Bobby asked.

"Something about saying I'll drink you under the table and you say something about sperm." Jack answered causing the three to laugh. "What?"

"Nothing Jack." Bobby replied. "I just...I just tease you at times. Naturally, as big brother there are times where I'd say you were gay even though you're not."

"By any chance is that related to the fairy nickname?" Jack asked.

"Kinda sorta." Bobby answered. "When you remember a little more than I'll explain."

Jack nodded.

"So," he continued. "Bobby, how did you become interested in hockey and then get us involved?"

"Well, short story is that I had anger problems when mom first took me in. She thought sports would be a good way for be to let out some of that anger. First couple of things I tried weren't good enough to keep my interest or let my anger out. Wrestling would have been good but the coaches said that I would most likely have broken someone's neck or back or anything else. Finally, I tried hockey and found that it was perfect. It was a rough sport and I was built for it. Found that it also let some of my anger out and before I know it the coach is asking me to be on the team. I got the rest of you into hockey as a way for us to develope that brotherly bond. Eventually you guys started to grow on it on your own and we became quite a team. Got to the point to where we became local legends on the ice."

"Cause you nearly kill everyone who actually does go against us." Jerry exclaimed.

"What? If they're brave enough to go against us then they can handle a few slaps."

"Slaps? More like hits to the face with your hockey stick, elbow and fist."

Jack smirked as he continued to watch Bobby and Jerry exchange banters.

"Us arguing all the time will _surely_ come back to you Jack." Angel said with a grin.

"I think so too." Jack agreed before taking another sip of his soda.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**By: MysticFantasy**

**.**

**.**

Jerry looked into the living room and spotted Jack fast asleep on the couch with the remote about to fall from his hand.

"He doing any better?" he asked quietly as he stood in the kitchen with Bobby and Angel.

"Physically? Yes. Mentally? Not even close." Bobby answered with a frown.

"He hasn't remembered anything other than those nicknames and he's been home for almost a month." Angel added with a light sigh.

"Something like this is gonna take a while guys." Jerry said. "I don't like it either but there's nothing we can do about it. It's not like we just hit him on the head and he'll remember everything again. And don't you even think of trying it Bobby. It could make him worse."

Bobby weakly smirked. Something like that had already crossed his mind but he knew better than to try it. They told Jack how they always play fought and wresteled but he was scared that if he tried anything like that that somehow Jack's emotions from when he was a tortured kid would resurface and he would get the wrong impression of his big brother.

"Does mom have any of those home movies around?" Jerry asked.

"Yeah but we can't find them. You know how Ma is with those things. They're like the treasure of Atlantis or the hidden gold of Fort Knox ." Angel answered.

"Yeah. She told me that she keeps stuff like that locked away where we can't find them." Bobby added. "Our only chance is for her to wait to come home and ask her for them. Until then we can entertain the little fairy and see if he remembers anything."

Bobby walked out of the kitchen and went to the living room where he went to Jack and lightly shook his shoulder.

"Jack? Wake up Jackie."

Jack stirred and moved, the remote falling to the floor as he woke up.

"What's going on?" he yawned.

"Nothing Jack. We just wanted to see if you wanted to go to the ice rink with us for a while." Bobby answered as Jack sat up.

"Ice rink?"

"Yeah. We spent a lot of time there when we were younger and played a lot of hockey games against other people."

"No offence but I don't think I'm up for playing hockey." Jack said.

"That's ok. You can be our cheerleader."

Jack gave Bobby a questionable look.

"Bobby, he don't remember you messing with him about that." Angel lightly snapped.

"Sorry. Habit. Alright Jack, you can be bench warmer."

"Sounds good to me." Jack said.

"Alright. We'll get changed and then head out." Bobby said.

**.**

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"I can get up the stairs on my own now you know?" Jack declared as Bobby lightly dropped him on his bed.

"I know. It's just funny to see you get so mad." Bobby replied with a grin before walking out of the room.

Jack lightly chuckled and sat up. He froze when he felt something under his hand that was on his pillow. Curious, he grabbed his pillow and reached inside to find what he felt.

He felt something hard and pulled it out. He saw that he found a small red book. The cover was slightly worn out, obviously it had been around for a while.

Jack opened the cover and saw handwriting that had obviously been done by a child.

_Property of Jackson Waltz._

"I thought my last name was Mercer." he muttered to himself as he turned to a random page and saw that he was looking at a journal.

_August 9_

_Dear Journal_

_I got put in another foster home today. The lady was nice but I know that she won't be that way for long. She was just pretending to be nice. I can tell. Just like all of the other people. I hope I don't have to go to the hospital again. I don't like going there all the time._

The next entry was two weeks later.

_August 24_

_Dear Journal,_

_I knew the lady wouldn't be nice. I'm in the hospital right now and I heard the social lady say that I'm going to be put in another house because this lady was putting something for rats in my food and that's why I got sick. The doctor said that I had a bad level of the rat stuff. I was asleep for a while but I'm awake now._

_I wish I could go somewhere that was nice. Even for a little while. I don't like being in these different houses where everyone is mean to me._

_The social lady said that a new lady is going to take me to her house for a while. I don't remember what her first name is but I heard her last name is Mercer. The social lady said that Ms. Mercer is the best lady around and likes kids._

_She sounds nice but she has three kids. Boys older than me. _

_I don't want to go with her._

"Hey Jack. Angel wants to know if you're..."

Bobby froze when he saw his little brother reading a very familiar book.

_Oh s**t. The journal. I forgot about that thing!_ he thought.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**By: MysticFantasy**

**.**

**.**

"Jack?" he asked softly.

"Guess I kinda reverted back to the way I was before." Jack muttered as his fingers tightened around the journal that was now on his lap. "I didn't know any of you and I didn't trust you either."

"Wasn't your fault though Jackie." Bobby said kneeling in front of his baby brother. "You were pretty mistreated before mom found you. And now...well the shock of what happened is what they say caused you to forget everything. Like you didn't want to believe it happened and your brain made it seem like it. It just went a little too far."

"But I must be getting better since I'm trusting you again and I'm remembering a little bit of things." Jack said.

"I think you are doin' better Jack." Bobby said with a faint smile. "Are you gonna wanna keep reading your journal?"

"Maybe a little bit. Maybe something in here will make me remember other things. But I won't read before the day that mom brought me home. I know I won't be able to handle that."

"Ok. Want us to stay home?"

"You guys can go if you want. Can I stay though?"

"Yeah. You can." Bobby answered. "We'll still be here for a while so just shout if you need something. Ok?"

Jack nodded and felt Bobby give him a quick hug.

"We're here for you Jackie. We always will be."

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"We're staying." Bobby announced walking into the living room.

"What happened? Something wrong with Jack?" Jerry asked in a concerned voice.

"He found his old journal and started reading it." Bobby answered.

"Oh d**n. I forgot about that thing." Angel muttered.

"I did too." Bobby said. "We're staying home because I think he's going to be a little emotional."

"You didn't take it away from him?" Jerry demanded.

"It's his choice if he wants to read it Jerry." Bobby replied. "It's the only thing he has from before he became our brother. He knows the state he's in and he's aware of what'll happen if he reads that journal."

"I don't know man." Angel said. "_We_ know how he can get but Jack doesn't."

"Well, if anything, that journal may remind him of at least that much."

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_Sept 4_

_It was my birthday yesterday. Just like last year, I was in the hospital and no one remembered._

_I'm leaving the hospital today and I'm going to be living with the Ms. Evelyn lady. I got to meet her. She's really nice and I know she's not pretending._

_She told me about her kids._

_I didn't talk to her because I'm still scared that she might be like the last lady who let me live with her. What if her kids beat me up like all of the others? What if they tie me up and lock me in the closet again? Or leave me outside when it's raining?_

_Ms. Evelyn said that her kids will be nice to me. But what if she's lying?_

_Sept 5_

_Ms. Evelyn brought me to her house. I met Jerry and Angel. She said that Bobby was playing hockey so he won't be here for a while but she showed me a picture of him23._

_I don't like him. He looks mean._

_Jerry seemed nice but he's really quiet._

_Angel looks like he doesn't want me around already._

_I wish I go back to the orphanage. I don't like being around Jerry and Angel._

_I know they're gonna be mean to me. Just like everyone else._

Jack turned to a page that was dated a month later.

_October 15_

_Ms. Evelyn said that Bobby is coming tomorrow. She said she asked him to come back when his hockey was done so he could meet me and help me._

_I don't want to meet him._

_October 16_

_Bobby's here. He's big and loud._

_He looked at me and he looked angry. I thought he was going to hit me right away._

_But he didn't. He said hi to me and that he was glad to meet me. He said Ms. Evelyn told him about me. _

_I didn't talk to him and I know that it made him mad. I know that he's going to beat me up as soon as Ms. Evelyn leaves._

_November 21_

_Bobby took me to learn to skate today. He said that I did good but that I need work. He's been nice to me but he's still loud. I don't like loud._

_He wrestles with Jerry and Angel and asks if I want to play. But Ms. Evelyn tells him that I'm still too little. I think she knows I don't want to. I don't like fighting. Bobby knows. _

_He said I need to grow some._

_Grow what?_

Jack lowered the journal and lightly sighed.

"I really didn't trust any of them." he muttered to himself. "I basically thought my brother's were monsters."

He flipped through three pages and saw that there was only one entry on one page.

_March 7_

_Ms. Evelyn said she's gonna adopt me._

Jack slowly shut the journal.

He heard light footsteps and soon saw his mother standing in the doorway to his room with a concerned look on her face.

"Jackie? Are you alright sweetheart?" she asked softly.

"I'm fine." Jack answered.

Evelyn quietly sat next to Jack. "Bobby told me you found your old journal."

Jack held up the small red book.

"I read how I didn't trust you at first. Or the guys."

"That was a long time ago. You were scared that we were going to be exactly like the people who had caused you so much pain. But you began to trust us. Then when you became my son you changed. I was so happy to see you warming up to us. Seeing you like this reminds me so much of when I first saw you. But you're still my little boy and you always will be no matter what. And I'll always love you Jackie."

Jack smiled and felt Evelyn press a light kiss to his forehead.

**.**

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**.**

"Let's shave some ice ladies!" Bobby exclaimed jumping onto the ice. "Jackie, you sure you wanna try this?"

"Yes." Jack answered hanging onto the edge of the wall. "I want to remember this."

"Are you sure though? Think your knees are strong enough to try skating?" Jerry asked standing next to Jack and checking to see if the knee braces on his younger brother were on correctly.

"Only one way to find out." Jack answered looking at the ice a bit nervously.

"Alright." Jerry said. "Hang onto me for a while though. You might need to get your balance back."

Jack nodded as he and Jerry grabbed each others wrists. Carefully, he stepped onto the ice and felt his legs shake a bit.

"You got it Jack?" Bobby asked gliding over.

"Think so." Jack answered carefully pushing himself across the ice in a sort of walking manner with Bobby and Jerry staying right next to him.

"This isn't so bad." the youngest said.

"Probably that memory from feel kinda thing." Jerry suggested.

"Still, doing pretty good for not skating in a while." Bobby said. "Think you'd be up for a pick up game Jackie?"

"I don't think I'm ready for that." Jack said with a smirk.

Bobby chuckled as they came to the curve. Like a hawk, Bobby kept a close eye on Jack as he slowed himself even more and did baby steps until they got out of the curve.

"Well, it seems like you've still got your balance." Bobby said skating backward and staying in front of the two.

"That's good to know." Jack said. "How good was I before?"

"Pretty good." Jerry answered. "You were pretty quick and that's what helped us win most of the games. You even surpassed Bobby in speed."

"Out of luck." Bobby quickly stated. "He's skinner so he's not weighed down as much."

"Maybe if you put your a** on a diet you could lose that weight you gained from being out of the league." Jerry stated with a grin as they came back to the rink entrance.

"You calling me fat Jerry?" Bobby asked with a light glare to his brother.

"No, I'm just saying that you put on a few pounds since your hockey days." Jerry answered smartly as Jack tried to hold back his laughter.

"You're calling me fat." Bobby insisted as Jack stepped off the ice.

The second that Jack was off the ice and out of Jerry's grasp, Bobby charged at Jerry and easily, but playfully, knocked the second oldest on his back.

"A**hole." Jerry muttered through a grin as he crawled onto all fours.

"Remember this Jackie. I'm sensitive about my weight." Bobby said with a grin.

"Then how come you thought _I_ was gay?" Jack asked as he scratched the back of his head.

"He's calling you gay Bobby." Jerry said standing up.

"You calling me gay Jackie?" Bobby asked.

**.**

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"At least we know that you're legs are getting stronger." Bobby said as he carefully massaged Jack's slightly swollen ankle. "Just gonna take time to get use to it again."

"Hopefully that'll happen quick. My feet feel like their bloated." Jack said.

Bobby chuckled.

"Still, you did pretty good today Jackie. Soon you'll be playing hockey with us again and helping me show everyone that the Mercer's are still in charge of this place." he said.

Jack chuckled before Evelyn appeared carrying two lightly steaming mugs.

"Have fun boys?" she asked handing one of the mugs to Jack who quickly smiled realizing he was holding a cup of hot chocolate.

"Sure did ma." Bobby answered switching to Jack's other ankle as Evelyn placed the other mug on a coaster on the coffee table. "Saw for myself that Jackie's getting stronger. Didn't fall once."

"That's wonderful." Evelyn mused placing a kiss on Jack's forehead. "You didn't let him do anything dangerous, did you Bobby?"

"No." Bobby answered with a grin. "_I'm_ the reckless one."

"I agree." Evelyn said before placing a kiss on Bobby's forehead.

"Ma." Bobby chuckled in through a fake whine.

Jack chuckled at his older brother before taking a drink of his beverage. He savored the warmth that spread through his body.

"I want the both of you to just sit down and relax for the rest of the day." Evelyn ordered in her motherly tone.

"So you want us to be in the house being destructive?" Bobby asked playfully.

"You know what I mean Robert Mercer." Evelyn lightly snapped through a smile. "Show Jackie that you're not just a destructive hockey player."

"Speaking of which, him and Jerry need to be grounded."

"Why?"

"Jerry was calling me fat and Jack was calling me gay."

"Well...you are a little bigger than you were when you were playing hockey."

"Ma!"

Jack laughed outloud as he watched the scene before him take place.

**.**

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**.**

"Shh!" Bobby hissed.

They all went silent and sure enough they could see why Bobby needed the silence.

From upstairs, they could hear the quiet strumming of a perfectly tuned guitar chord.

After glacing at each other for a quick second, Bobby, Angel and Evelyn quickly walked to the stairs and made their way up to the second floor where the chords grew louder.

The three quietly walked onto the second floor and toward Jack's open door where they saw him sitting on his bed strumming the strings of his prized instrument.

They stood in his doorway, listening and watching him play until he finally ended the song. He looked at his guitar for a second and then up at his family.

"I just...started playing." he said.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**By: MysticFantasy**

**.**

**.**

"I just picked it up and started playing. I...I remember all of the chords and even some music." Jack said.

"I knew it was just a matter of time before you remembered how to play again." Bobby exclaimed happily. "Our little rockstar is back to playing music agian."

"You're getting closer and closer to remembering everything Jackie-poo." Angel added.

"I hope so." Jack said. "I don't like walking around and not knowing what's going on."

"Sounds like Bobby when he was in school or when he's drunk." Angel commented.

"A**hole." Bobby muttered.

**.**

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"I won't be gone long." Evelyn said. "Bobby, please take care of your brothers."

"Ma, they ain't babies anymore. Well, halfway anyway." Bobby said before he felt a pillow strike his back.

"Angel, I don't want _anyone_ coming over. Understand?" Evelyn said in a warning tone.

"Yes Ma." Angel answered.

"Alright then. Behave." Evelyn said grabbing her purse and walking out the front door.

"Who wants pizza?" Bobby asked.

Angel and Jack both raised their hands but didn't take their eyes away from the screen.

"Lazy a**es." Bobby muttered with a grin heading to the kitchen to order their dinner.

"What did mom mean when she said she didn't want you to invite anyone over?" Jack asked curiously.

"I think she meant my girlfriend, Sofi. We, uh, hang out a lot." Angel answered and noticed Jack look at him questioningly. "You know what I mean."

"They do a lot of laundry." Bobby stated walking into the room and sitting next to the youngest.

"I don't wanna know." Jack said.

"When your memories come back you'll know what we're talking about. It'll make you wanna take your clothes to one of those washateria places." Bobby said.

"Shut up man." Angel declared.

"It's true." Bobby replied. "Anyway, pizza's are gonna be here in half an hour."

"Good. I'm starving." Angel said.

"You're always hungry Angel. How the heck did the Marines handle your a**?"

"How did the league handle you all that time?"

Jack smirked as he sat back and enjoyed his brothers bickering back and forth. Angel had been right about him remembering a few arguments. He did remember some but most of it was still a blur.

But he was satisfied knowing he was getting closer and closer to fully remembering who he was and who the people around him are.

His brothers bickering made time quickly pass by and soon the pizza had arrived and was now sitting in open boxes in front of them with cold soda.

Jack was savoring the delicious taste of the melted cheese and steaming pepperoni. He had quickly learned that his brothers were not exactly iron chefs in the kitchen. But he couldn't really talk since his mother still refused to let him use his arm too much so he couldn't test his own skills.

"So Jackie, like hanging out with your big brothers and eatting junk food?" Bobby asked with a smirk before bitting into a meat lover slice.

"I like hanging out with you guys." Jack answered swallowing the bite he had.

"That's good. In a few minutes we'll go to a buffet and get you to eat a few plates." Bobby said. "You're too skinny Jackie."

"Not my fault." Jack protested lightly with a smile. "Is it?"

"No." Angel answered grabbing another slice. "You've always been like this and Bobby makes fun of you being skinny because he always had to work out to loose weight."

"Whatever." Bobby said tossing a crumpled napkin at Angel. "You just had a growth spurt that made you gain height but not width. Not having much muscle made you a speedy little devil. Quick on the ice and on the track."

"I ran track?"

"Yeah and you were awesome at it. Won a lot of things." Bobby answered. "But that never changed my mind about trying to fatten you up."

"You should try to get your mind set on loosing a few instead of putting them on Jackie-poo." Angel said.

"Says you." Bobby replied as Jack once again sat back and watched while eatting his third slice of pizza. "The only reason you've havn't put on much weight is because Loco Ono helps you work out."

"Maybe you should get a girl to help you work out." Angel replied.

"You guys sound like you're talking about a porno workout." Jack said.

"Then you can be the star in it Jackie." Bobby replied. "We need to get you laid."

"The way you guys talk about girls...No thanks." Jack said. "You might pick a girl with a fake leg or something."

Angel and Bobby both started laughing at their younger brother.

"You're probably right baby brother." Bobby said. "I can barley find a girl that isn't a total nutcase."

"Nah, it's just you." Angel said.

"F**k you Angel!"

Jack laughed trying to take the last bite of his pizza.

**.**

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"Why did you quit hockey?" Jack asked.

"Didn't quit." Bobby replied cleaning up the living room. "Got kicked out."

"Why?"

"Well, they said that I was being too...ill tempered." Bobby answered piling the empty pizza boxes on the coffee table. "After gettng tossed out of so many games they decided that I was too big a threat to people's safty and gave me the boot."

"That sucks." Jack said.

"Sure does Cracker Jack." Bobby agreed. "Playing for the league was one of the best times of my life. They'll come begging for me to go back. Just watch. When they realize that hockey's gone soft without me they'll come back."

Jack chuckled at his older brother before letting out a small yawn.

"Maybe you should go take a nap or something Jack. You look tired." Bobby suggested.

"Just full. I'm alright." Jack replied.

"You said the same thing when you were little. Three minutes later you were out like a light." Bobby said with a grin. "Never failed."

Jack smirked at his older brother but laid across the couch either way. A quick nap did sound perfect after hanging out with his brothers and now that he's on a full stomach.

"Where did Angel go?" he asked.

"To Sofi's." Bobby answered reentering the living room after throwing a few things away. "If she's not here than he goes to her. Angel always called himself a ladies man. Whatever girl he does get ends up being super clingy and totally crazy. Thank goodness I never had that problem with you Jackie."

"Hey, since it's only the two of us here, can you finally explain to me that fairy nickname?" Jack asked.

"You think you can handle the full story with your memories basically only half restored?" Bobby asked.

"I think so." Jack answered. "Please?"

"Alright Jack. If you really want to know." Bobby said sitting on the coffee table so he was directly in front of Jack's view.

Jack adjusted himself to lie on his side and remained silent.

"The reason that I call you a fairy is because there's two reasons." Bobby started. "The first is because it gets on your nerves when I call you that. Older brother getting on the younger brothers nerves more or less. It was always a hit for me to get your riled up over a little nickname. But I'd like to think that you also knew that I did it because I let you know how much I care about ya. The main reason I call you a fairy is because I wanted to help you get past what happened to you when you first came here."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked softly.

"Remember how you managed to figure out that you were a neglected child while you were in foster homes before coming here?"

Jack nododed.

"When you came here you were a quiet kid. Took months to get you to speak up. One day I thought that maybe getting you mad would work. I called you a few other names first but they didn't really get you worked up. Finally I started calling you a fairy. I could tell that you didn't know what it meant and I told you that it meant you were gay. I noticed that the more I called you a fairy you started to make faces at me. I was starting to get the reaction I wanted to see. One day I decided to call you a fairy as much as possible in hopes of at least getting you to ask me to stop. I laid it on ya heavy with that nickname and I finally got something out of you."

"What did I do?" Jack asked curiously.

"You called me a big fat jerk and pushed me." Bobby answered with a grin. "For a little kid you sure were strong. I fell and hit my head on the side of the couch. Gave me a huge bump. Ma defended you but I wasn't mad. If anything I was pretty happy. Ma later told me that she was glad that you had finally spoken and she was really impressed that someone as little as you had knocked me off my feet. Jerry or Angel couldn't even do that. I kept calling you a fairy and I always got something out of you. A little glare, a shout or two and finally you just tried to ignore it. Eventually you tried to convince me that you weren't gay and tried to get me to stop. But I know that you aren't gay. I never thought you were. I just said it to get you worked up at times. Understand?"

Jack looked up at his brother.

"Makes sense." he said.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12-Epilogue**

**By: MysticFantasy**

**.**

**.**

Evelyn walked into Jack's room and saw her youngest son standing at the window looking outside.

"Jackie? Are you alright honey? You've been so quiet these past few days." Evelyn asked.

"I...I can't remember anything else." Jack whispered. "My memories...I can't remember anything before I was ten. Everything before that is blank. Then there's holes between the things I do remember. Whatever memories I have recovered...That's all I'm ever going to remember."

"Maybe the rest is just taking a while to come back to you." Evelyn sugested.

"It's not." Jack replied sitting on his head and holding his journal close. "It's been five days since Bobby explained his nickname for me and I remembered pushing him and he hit his head but after that...Nothing. It's a dead end stop. I'm not ever going to remember anything before I was ten or the rest of the gaps between what I do remember."

"Are you sure Jackie?" Evelyn asked sitting next to her youngest son. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah." Jack answered. "What I remember now is all I'm ever going to remember. It's only half of my life but...It's enough for me."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Jack answered with a faint smile. "I remember what I need to know. I remember my mom and my brother's. My wish to not remember my horrible childhood was granted."

Evelyn wasn't too sure if Jack meant that he was glad he didn't recover all of his memories. But he seemed to be sure of himself.

Jack handed her his journal.

"Can you keep this and hide it? Hide it where I'll never find it?"

"Your journal? Are you sure you want me to hide it Jack?"

"I'm sure." Jack answered. "I don't ever want to remember my childhood. This book has it all written down. If my memories ever do come back then fine. But for now I don't want anything to make me remember."

Evelyn nodded and took the journal. She reached up and cupped Jack's cheek in her hand.

"Whether or not you'll ever fully remember everything, all you need to know is that you're my little boy who has a mother who will always love him and three big brothers who always look out for you."

"That's all I want to remember mom." Jack said.

"Hey Jackie! We're gonna go play hockey. Want to come?" Bobby's voice called from downstairs.

"Go ahead Jackie. I'll put this away while you're gone." Evelyn said with a soft smile.

"Ok. Thanks mom." Jack said.

**.**

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Two months passed since the day Evelyn hid Jack's journal.

During those two months Jack hadn't been able to remember anything else about his life. His memories were still half recovered but he hadn't complained about it.

His horrible past was forgotten and only the memories of being with his family were present.

His injuries healed well and he was back to being able to skate on his own and play his guitar. Not yet to the same abilities he was able to before but it wasn't bothering him since he still had a way to go before he was back to one hundred percent.

Evelyn was just happy that her youngest son was doing well and her family was together.

The only thing that threatened to tear apart this new perfect balance was the small red book Jack himself had written in that was now hidden in a location known only by Evelyn.


End file.
